Ramgen slay suspect surrenders to NBI

MANILA, Philippines - A suspect in the murder of actor Ram Revilla (real name Ramgen Bautista) surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday morning.

Ryan Pastera, accompanied by his aunt and lawyer, showed up at the NBI headquarters on Taft Avenue at around 7 a.m. 

Pastera’s aunt, who refused to be identified, said they learned that Pastera was implicated in Ramgen’s murder from the media. She said her nephew surrendered to clear his name “and defend himself. He is innocent.”

She said Pastera noticed unidentified people casing their home at night, so he went to the province for a vacation. Pastera’s aunt said they went to the NBI to seek protection from the threats her nephew has been receiving.

The Parañaque City regional trial court earlier ordered the arrest of Pastera, Glaiza Visda, Norwin de la Cruz and Ramgen’s sister, Ramona, in connection with the attack on Ramgen and his girlfriend, Janelle Manahan, on Oct. 28, 2011. Only Ramona, who fled to Turkey, remains at large.

Pastera may have to stay in NBI custody until the Parañaque court decides where he will be detained.

NBI coddled Pastera?

After condemning the NBI for allegedly coddling Pastera for over two months, Manahan’s lawyer, Argee Guevarra, welcomed reports of Pastera’s surrender.

“Did Ryan Pastera really surrender to the NBI or was he in the company or custody of the NBI all this time?” he said, noting that NBI agents “were caught on video” escorting the suspect in to the Parañaque prosecutor’s office during the preliminary investigation last year.

According to Guevarra, Pastera is a fraternity brother and best friend of Hiro Furuyama, the husband of Gail Bautista, a sister of Ramgen. The Furuyamas are undergoing preliminary investigation before the city fiscal.

He called on the NBI to hand over Pastera to the police, as commanded by Judge Fortunato Madrona in a Jan. 13 arrest warrant. 

“If the Paranaque City Jail is good enough for RJ Bautista, then it should also be good enough for Pastera. To grant Pastera’s whimsical desire to be detained at the NBI would be a tell-tale sign of special privileges being accorded by the NBI to him,” Guevarra said. 

He said they are prepared to “appropriate criminal and administrative charges against recalcitrant NBI agents” if Pastera is not turned over to the police.

Guevarra also urged Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to probe the NBI’s alleged coddling of Pastera so that the NBI “will be purged of elements who see the agency as a private bureau of investigation whose powers can be availed of by paying clients.”